Covid has orphaned 5.2 million children — one every 6 seconds — so far

A "heart-breaking hidden pandemic" has left more than 5.2 million children orphans grieving the loss of parents or caregivers who died of Covid-19, researchers estimate in a new modeling study in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. They also say that's the equivalent of one child every six seconds. That number, calculated through October 2021, outpaces the 5 million deaths in the 20 countries where data were collected. More fathers than mothers died and more adolescents were bereaved than younger children. The analysis, which updates previous numbers tallied through the first 14 months of the pandemic, shows the number of orphaned children doubled in six months. Countries with low vaccination rates fared the worst, so the researchers urge that solutions start with preventing the death of caregivers by accelerating equitable Covid vaccine delivery.

Majority of abortions are done with pills now

Most abortions in the U.S. are done with pills, not surgery, according to a new report charting the medications' growing use, which accelerated during the pandemic. In 2020, 54% of abortions were done via pills, up from 44% the year before, according to preliminary data from the Guttmacher Institute. That rise is attributed in part to the FDA’s decision to allow abortion pills to be mailed so patients could skip in-person visits to get them, the Associated Press notes. The first abortion pill, mifepristone, was approved in 2000 and its use has grown since then. Abortion access is now restricted in many states and the U.S. Supreme Court is considering cases that challenge the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, The 19th points out.

STAT Madness is back!

STAT Madness, a bracket-style competition modeled on college basketball’s March Madness tournaments, is our chance to showcase the ingenuity and breadth of biomedical research being pursued around the U.S. Many of this year’s 64 contenders for recognition of the previous year’s most exciting biomedical discovery, like those in 2021, reflect the world’s focus on Covid-19. This time around they dived deeper into antiviral treatments and other pandemic solutions while others expanded horizons in gene therapy, microbiome research, and surgery. The first round of popular voting begins this Tuesday, and continues through six single-elimination rounds before the winner of the popular vote is announced on April 4. STAT contributor Maddie Bender breaks it down, wild cards and all, here.

Closer look: Finding a way to be done with masks

(Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

Late last year CDC Director Rochelle Walensky made a commitment about face masks, one of the defining symbols of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Masks are for now, they’re not forever,” she said. “We have to find a way to be done with them.” Later today she is expected to deliver at least in part on that pledge, outlining long-awaited new guidance on when the CDC believes people should consider wearing masks and when they might safely stash them in a drawer for a time. The guidance, with exceptions such as airports, is expected to be based on a series of metrics going beyond case counts. Are hospitals in your region able to handle Covid cases and deliver standard care? Are intensive care units filling up? Is wastewater surveillance showing rising levels of virus transmission in a region? STAT’s Helen Branswell has more.

Study connects net worth and blood pressure in African American women

Lower socioeconomic status often predicts poorer health, with less education and income strongly tied to cardiovascular disease. A small new study takes a different tack to capture financial stability, asking young and middle-aged African American women about their net worth and measuring their blood pressure. Among 384 women of diverse income and education without heart disease, blood pressure and risk of sustained hypertension were higher in those who said even if they sold all their assets they would be in debt compared with those who would have a positive net worth. The difference held up after accounting for smoking, weight, depressive symptoms, any stress over debt — and income and education. “This study suggests that net worth may be a greater risk factor for increased [blood pressure] than traditional socioeconomic indicators in African American women,” the authors write.

Genetic genealogy stirs regret in some cases, survey finds

Genetic genealogy is flourishing thanks to direct-to-consumer genetic testing. But what do people make of discovering previously unknown relatives? A new survey of more than 23,000 users published in the American Journal of Human Genetics found that among the people who learned something new about themselves or a relative (61%), most had positive or neutral reactions to this "genetic reckoning," as the researchers put it, with the notable exception of those who were distressed to find out that a person they believed to be their biological parent was not (3%) or that they have a sibling they had not known about (5%). Most people who were adopted (85%) knew they were before participating in the genetic relative-finding service, but almost half of donor-conceived respondents (45%) learned about their conception that way.

What to read around the web today

We might not need annual Covid shots. The Atlantic
In San Francisco, hundreds of homes for the homeless sit vacant. ProPublica
Most complete simulation of a cell probes life’s hidden rules. Quanta
Unraveling of Amicus spinout spells more trouble for gene therapy field. STAT+
Political pressure in the U.K. prompted more universities to report clinical trial results. STAT+